That's Mr. Funky Chicken

Rufus Thomas still has soul

by Mark Edmonds

At a recent celebration of Rufus Thomas's 80th birthday at one of Memphis's downtown theaters, fans expected the blues and soul stylist -- whose cache of hits includes "Walkin' the Dog" and "Do the Funky Chicken" -- to show signs of slowing down. But then, as locals in this city already know, Thomas often fails to live up to expectations. He usually exceeds them.

Instead of a sleepy tribute, the event crackled with electricity -- much of it generated by the guest of honor himself, who arrived early, stayed late, and spent hours flitting between the stage (where he led his band like a man possessed) and the theater floor. Afterward, as weary guests slithered into the night, he took great care to thank everyone who'd bothered to come.

Youngsters were impressed, but for Thomas, it was just another day in the life of this self-proclaimed "world's oldest teenager."

He admits, however, the years are finally mellowing him. "I have a stretch of a few months where, man, I'm way up there. But then, I'll have to take a few days to come back down," he says. "You may say I'm like a rubber band. I always snap back. On that, you can count on."

Thomas joins Leon Russell and former Band drummer Levon Helm this Saturday at the second Framingham Blues Festival. Last year, the event drew nearly a thousand fans, despite heavy rain.

One of roots-music's seasoned vets, Thomas boasts a career that reaches back to his teens, when the Saturday-night fare of his hometown's blues joints lured him from gospel -- he first performed as a tap dancer with the traveling Rabbit Foot Minstrels tent show, then as the leader of small combos, working jukes and gin mills throughout the Memphis and Helena, Arkansas area.

In 1951, another facet of his career -- that of radio DJ -- came into play after he assumed B.B. King's duties on WDIA's Sepia Swing Hour (King left to tour). Thomas still works the airwaves on the same station every Saturday.

"I've seen a whole lot of things happen since," he says. "You've had Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Dinah Washington. I could sit here till tomorrow and tell you about them. They all made me want to be a part of this music forever. To me, it's the greatest music in the world."

His 1953 single, "Bear Cat," recorded at Sun Studios after Thomas hooked up with Sam Phillips, was a sleeper hit. Eight years later, when Stax Records opened, Thomas and his daughter Carla were among the first local artists to record there.

In the interim, Thomas had watched while black R&B became white rock and roll. Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis adopted its sound, without, as Thomas points out, "giving black R&B the due it deserved.

"It was this, `If it's white, it's right' thing," he says disdainfully. "Back then, when a white boy grabbed the music, it took off. But in its own form, it didn't do much. Pat Boone singing Little Richard's `Tutti Frutti' . . . he made a hit out of that. Why? Because of that white is right thing. We've got to tell them different now."

Thomas set out to do that on-air. Meanwhile, he and his daughter Carla would chart a string of hits for Stax through the '60s -- "Gee Whiz," "B-A-B-Y," and "Dog" largest among them. By 1970, the Thomases seemed destined for musical immortality as "Funky Chicken," "Do the Push and Pull," "The World Is Round," and a recycled version of "Chicken" (revamped as "Do the Funky Penguin") all hit pay dirt.

But bankruptcy at Stax derailed their careers; Carla never recorded again, and Rufus took to hustling contracts with whatever indie would have him. Over the next 20 years, he recorded for several labels. But he never matched his greatest glories at Stax.

But he's close today. Blues Thang! (recently out on the Memphis-based Sequel label) offers 13 tracks of blues, soul, and R&B grooves. The greasy rhythms of the three combine with familiar backbeats and variously timed tempos to create as interesting a project as you're likely to hear this year.

"It was fun all the way to do that," Thomas says. "We just got it set up, and then it was off to the races."

So is this the secret to long life and happiness? "Hell, yeah," Thomas says. "You gotta have fun in life. Music to me is fun. You see me, and you'll see how much fun I have with it. More, I'll bet, than anybody else you ever have!"

Rufus Thomas joins Levon Helm and Leon Russell at the second annual Framingham Blues Festival on September 27 at Bowditch Field (off Edgell Road), Framingham. Music runs from 1 to 9 p.m., and general-admission tickets are $10. Call 897-4663.